CEO Update: A focus on hospitality in the hospital expansion

This blog is the first in a series of videos where we will be walking through our hospital expansion. We’ll be talking about how it impacts our employees and patients and how we’ll be able to better fulfill our mission and vision in our new hospital.

I visited recently with Scott Kirchhoff, our administrative director of hospitality, to talk about the new space that we have coming and a little bit about the planning that went into it. As we were planning the new cafeteria, we looked at the program that we had currently and what we needed to do for the future. Really, we had outgrown the space that we had. We knew we needed to grow our cafeteria along with everything else.

Continue reading the blog post or watch the video to learn more about:

• How we had outgrown the old facility.
• How we’re managing the temporary kitchen and cafeteria facilities.
• What we’re most excited about for Nutritional Services in the expansion.
• How we serve both our patients and community through hospitality.

Kirchhoff: We serve over half a million meals every year. Before we relocated to the temporary kitchen, we were hitting the 600,000 meal count. This last year, FY 24, even with the move, we were still well above half a million. It encompasses all that we do catering as well.

Calhoun: What were some of the things, as we were designing our new facility, that we thought we had really outgrown in our old facility?

Kirchhoff: The old facility was actually a great facility. We were spoiled and lucky to have it for as long as we did. But that facility was more for adapting. We basically adapted for what we were able to do. This new facility will be able to do everything that we’re built to do, which is exciting. The new one will be actually designed for the flow of traffic and the flow of people coming in and out. We’re excited about that.

Calhoun: We’re here right now in what was the community rooms. Let’s talk about what it looks like now for your team and how we got to that set up.

Kirchhoff: This was already laid out wonderfully. It’s virtually the same square footage as the former cafeteria. On top of that, we have good access points and good power. So, we were able to seamlessly put in a temporary kitchen, run power and have access from point-of-production to point-of-service.

Calhoun: So let’s talk about the new space. I want to hear about things you’re excited about as we’ve designed this facility.

Kirchhoff: Honestly, the thing I’m most excited about is walking through the front door. I think that’s one of the benefits of this whole project. As you walk in the front door of the new facility, we’ve got our second DJBean location. And then off to the right is our new dining facility. So it really does have that hospitality atmosphere of welcoming people in — not just people that aren’t feeling well or seeking medical attention, but also community members just wanting to spend some time with their families or come in and enjoy a meal with us.

Calhoun: Another feature of our new building is going to be our outdoor dining space. We want to take advantage of being able to create some space outdoors when we do have good weather here in the Ozarks.

We do currently have our Sunday buffet. We invite the community out for that. But we’re going to continue that in the new space. Talk about what we do with meals for the community and how we’re available for the public.

Kirchhoff: Catering was something that we started a couple of decades ago. Really, that was kind of a concept in order to help generate revenue and also generate a buzz about our organization. But on top of that, one of the things we did was a Sunday buffet. We have a six-week menu cycle, usually with a couple of featured entrees. We have a brunch option available, too. In the new cafeteria, that will actually be expanded.

Calhoun: Hospitality and nutritional services have so much to do with making people feel welcome when they come in. I’m really excited about the new facility and the welcoming feeling it’s going to have. Your team plays such an important role in the good care we provide. High-quality care includes having good, nutritious meals for our patients. And you serve our patients so well. I get compliments every day about your team and how they are really in tune to the needs of our patients and serve them well. I appreciate the way you’ve made do with our current facilities. I’m excited about the future and how we’ve got a much nicer facility than we’ve ever had coming in 2026.

Michael Calhoun shares the latest happenings at CMH in his monthly CEO Updates. He is the CEO/executive director of CMH and the Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation.